Tales and Novels — Volume 03: BelindaEdgeworth, Maria
General
Tales and Novels — Volume 03: Belinda
Edgeworth, Maria
Courtship -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
Belinda heard no more; for at this instant, as she was standing alone,
near the glass-door that was opposite to the bed, she saw at a distance
in the garden the figure which Lady Delacour had described. Lady
Delacour was now so intent upon speaking to Dr. X----, that she saw
nothing but him. Belinda had the presence of mind to be perfectly
silent. The figure stood still for some moments. She advanced a few
steps nearer to the window, and the figure vanished. She kept her eye
steadily fixed upon the spot where it had disappeared, and she saw it
rise again and glide quickly behind some bushes. Belinda beckoned to Dr.
X----, who perceived by the eagerness of her manner, that she wished
to speak to him immediately. He resigned his patient to Marriott, and
followed Miss Portman out of the room. She told him what she had just
seen, said it was of the utmost consequence to Lady Delacour to have the
truth ascertained, and requested that Dr. X----would go with some of
the men-servants and search the garden, to discover whether any one was
there concealed, or whether any footsteps could be traced. The doctor
did not search long before he perceived footsteps in the borders
opposite to the glass-door of Lady Delacour’s bedchamber; he was
carefully following their track, when he heard a loud cry, which seemed
to come from the other side of the garden wall. There was a breach
in the wall over which he scrambled with some difficulty. The screams
continued with redoubled violence. As he was making his way to the
spot from which they proceeded, he was met by the old gardener, who was
crossing one of the walks with a lantern in his hand.
“Ho! ho!” cried the gardener, “I take it that we have the thief at last.
I fancy that the fellow whose footsteps I traced, and who has been at my
morello cherry-tree every night, has been caught in the trap. I hope his
leg is not broke, though!-This way, sir--this way!”
The gardener led the doctor to the place, and there they found a man,
whose leg had actually been caught in the spring-trap which had been set
for the defence of the cherry-tree. The man had by this time fallen into
a swoon; they extricated him as fast as possible, and Doctor X----
had him brought to Lady Delacour’s, in order that the surgeon, who was
there, might see his leg.
As they were carrying him across the hall, Belinda met them. She poured
out a glass of water for the man, who was just recovering from his
swoon; but as she went nearer to give it him, she was struck with his
wonderful resemblance to Harriot Freke.
“It must be Mrs. Freke herself!” whispered she to Marriott, whose wide
opening eyes, at this instant, fixed themselves upon her.
“It must be Mrs. Freke herself, ma’am!” repeated Marriott.
And so in fact it was.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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